I Sense Evil Around You
by Sandrei20
Summary: Skipper's turned evil. Immensely evil. Dark past from Madagascar is catching up with them. Will Marlene overcome her fear?   Will she cure him from this terrible influence of evil forces? R&C, please!
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, guys. Here's my first Horror/Drama story. I just felt this unappeased urge to write something both gross and dramatic. ("Dangerous Mind" song was the main inspiration)..Another weird whim of mine.. It happens sometimes, you know:P lol. Well okay, I just want to warn you this stuff is rather eerie, cursing occurs every once in a while, some scenes are quite violent, so I consequently gave it a T rating. All of you who feel like reading this story anyway, please tell me what you think**___

_**Hugs, **_

_**Sandrei**_

CHAPTER ONE: First Nightmare

"_It's really kind of you to pay me a visit, Marlene" said Max the Mooncat, while bustling around in his obscure kitchen. "I barely ever have guests."_

_Marlene nodded her head and gripped her paws under the table. She kept a watchful eye on the door as if expecting somebody to burst inside any second._

"_Why do you keep glancing back behind yourself?" asked Max the Mooncat, while pouring some tea to her cup._

"_Dunno.. It's just that.. I'm a little jumpy, that's all" mumbled Marlene, fidgeting nervously with her paws._

"_Surely, you don't expect anybody to hurt you here, do you?" said Max the Mooncat as if reading through her mind. He walked up towards the table and offered her a cup of tea. The Otter nodded her head in silence, and took the cup in her hands. _

"_Watch out, it's still hot. Better wait for it to cool down" advised Max._

_A violent wave of coldness swept across her fur. Marlene dropped the cup with a loud smash and shivered. Max squinted his green eye and sent her a glare, evidently puzzled with her awkward behavior._

"_Max… listen to me.. I got this strange feeling somebody is spying on us.. I can feel someone's presence in this room" she stole another glance at the rusty door. She could sense evil hiding behind._

"_What are you talking about, woman?" mumbled Max, annoyed. "There is not a soul in sight, I assure you, no one ever knows I live here"._

"_Max, I'm telling you, this place isn't safe!" said Marlene slowly, emphasizing each word with a silent punch on the table._

"_You're really something" muttered Max quietly. _

_Several minutes later she found herself back in the zoo, wandering deserted alleys in the cold night. She couldn't even remember when did she leave Max's flat. She was passing by the Penguin's habitat when something caught her attention. She took a glance at the pool and frowned. She spotted something floating up on the water surface. What was that?_

_The Moon scrambled out from behind the clouds and threw its ominous light at the pool. Marlene let out a quiet moan. A violent wave of nausea rumbled in her guts. She clasped her lips with her paws, making the most of herself not to barf._

"_Seems like someone didn't make it up to the bathroom" she stated, while watching over the dirtied pool in horror. "Was it one of the penguins? Could it be stomach flu or something?"_

_Icy-cold wind brushed across her face and moved the water surface. An unpleasant odor of sickness soaked the air._

"_I'm gonna kill you, Marlene" she heard someone's evil whisper. She grabbed her heart, rolled her eyes and passed out from fear. _

She woke up at ten o'clock in the morning, her head pounding, her whole body weak and sore. She let out a moan and cuddled herself back in her favorite, green blanket. She didn't feel like getting up, although she knew she would have to. A large group of school kids from Boston was planning to pay them a visit today.

Marlene scrambled out of the bed and made herself some coffee. She was half on her way towards the fridge, when the memories of her recent nightmare invaded her mind all of a sudden. She saw that dirtied pool in her mind again. Another wave of nausea rose up in her stomach. She turned on her heal and walked back towards the table – she definitely lost interest in food.

"What the hell is wrong with me?"

She usually wouldn't give much thoughts about her dreams, even those unpleasant ones. She would always consign them to oblivion and focus on the aspects of the real life. Up until now. There was something particularly distracting about her latest dream. Marlene finished her cup in hurry and went outside for a little walk around the zoo, just to refresh her mind.


	2. Chapter 2: My BFF

_**Wowee! Sooo, someone's reading it anyway! Cool! Thank you guys for your comments I truly hope you'll enjoy the rest! Here comes chapter 2 :] Teheheheeeeh…**_

CHAPTER TWO: My BFF

_3:30 pm…_

She spotted Skipper, Rico, Private and Kowalski, strolling in the Alley. The sight of Skipper brought her violent chills down her spine. "What the fudge!" she asked herself in her thoughts, evidently surprised with the reaction Skipper's presence induced in her. "He's my BFF. Why do I feel so freaked out and distracted?"

"Hey, Marlene! Care for some Snowcones?" greeted her Skipper, his voice sounding joyful and serene. "Kowalski told me they had a promotion. Extra large portion of Snowcones for one buck!"

"Wow!"

"We're celebrating Private's promotion today" said Skipper.

"Really!" gasped Marlene. Private nodded his head with alacrity, his childish face beaming with pride.

"Well, congratulations, little fella!" said Marlene, patting Private on the head.

"Thanks!" chirped the youngest penguin joyfully.

"He did very well today!" said Skipper, wrapping his flipper around Private's arms.

Marlene took a quick glance at Skipper's face. He seemed absolutely normal. She then glanced back behind herself at the pool. It was all clean and sound.

"Maybe I'm too paranoid" she thought to herself on their way back. She glanced at the rest of the team; all of them were busy enjoying their Snowcones. She got lost in her thoughts and she barely ever touched hers. She would only catch the snatch of their conversation. They were talking about Alice's goofs and blunders.

"_Listen! All I know is that we've got three males and one female!"_ said Kowalski, mocking Alice's voice. "Epic fail, Gingerhead!" he chuckled under his beak.

"You know, she is a MAMMAL, that explains all" laughed Skipper. Before Marlene had a chance to react violently to his remark, he wrapped his free flipper around her waist and pulled her close to his side.

"Joking, dollface" he muttered conciliatory, and rubbed her arm tenderly. Marlene felt a violent jolt in her heart. They were so close to each other for this split of second. And yet, she couldn't get rid of this unpleasant feeling of fear and anxiety.

She'd already got used to Skipper's specific attitude towards mammals. So why did she get so nervous? She stole a quick glance at his sapphire blue eyes and shrugged. There was something wrong in his look.. something she'd never seen before. An alien glimpse.. ominous and cold.. just for a split of second…

"What's wrong, Marlene? You've got chills?" asked Skipper.

"M… fine" mumbled Marlene, fixing her look on the ground.

Skipper rubbed her arm again to keep her warm.

"I hope you're not cold, dollface" he said tenderly. "Wanna pop to our HQ for a while? I will give you some hot lemon tea".

"Oh, yeah.. I would like that.. thanks Skippa" said Marlene, making the most of herself to sound natural.

She then grabbed her free paw convulsively and bit her lip.

"Dear Lord.." she thought desperately. "Something is not right. I can feel it. What's going on?"


	3. Chapter 3: Second Nightmare

CHAPTER THREE: Second Nightmare

After taking a thorough survey on her food supply and all sorts of domestic products it would finally came down to her; she had no choice. She had to make a trip to the nearest Supermarket. As she was passing by the lemurs habitat, she heard King Julien and Maurice, discussing about something passionately, their voices low, but full of emotions.

Marlene stopped for a while and pricked up her ears, just out of curiosity.

"They say the bottle had to be buried deep down in the sand, so that no one could ever get a chance to come across it again. If the bottle was ever to be discovered by a random person, human or animal, it would bring chaos and distraction! Not only to the nearest surroundings, but also to everybody who set his foot on Madagascar Island."

"Weheh! That's really terrifying!" said King Julien, evidently agitated.

"That's why it would be better for all of us if this evil gadget remained unfound" concluded Maurice.

Marlene pursed her lips and shrugged her arms.

"Isn't it a little early to tell each other some wicked stories about ghosts. Maurice?" she thought to herself while continuing her way towards the entrance gate.

One thing was for sure. It was nowhere in the zoo. Nor it was her own habitat. The whole room was covered with a dark twilight, spider nets were dangling dumpily from the ceiling. Some noisy rats were messing around on the floor. Marlene took a deep breath. The air was soaked with sickness. She knew what was it about to announce. It announced the force of evil. Before she had a chance to rush towards the door, she felt something cold and hard pressing against her back. Somebody sent her feeling across the floor. Two seconds later her back collided with the wall.

She heard somebody approaching her from the other side of the room. She kept her eyes shut because she was too terrified to look straight into face of whoever it was that had targeted her.

She felt someone's strong arms gripping her neck tightly. She slowly started to run out of air. She desperately tried to free herself from his grip but she didn't have the slightest chance.

"Just one day or two and I will finish you off you stupid mammal" someone's evil voice barked through gritted teeth. "Just you wait!"

Marlene's painful scream whisked the air. Two seconds later she found herself back in her bed, her whole body bathed in cold sweat, the last traces of her scream still vibrating in the air. The otter curled up in her bed sheets and pressed her paws against her pounding heart.

It was a male for sure. And his voice sounded dangerously familiar. Marlene bit her lip so hard it started to bleed. She would constantly push this thought away. "It's impossible, it's impossible" she kept repeating to herself, but it would bring her no relief.


	4. Chapter 4: Something's not right

CHAPTER FOUR: Something's not right

"Goddamnit, I really start to get sick of these guys" muttered Skipper, watching over the group of Boston kids with a gloom look. Marlene took a quick glance at his face and shivered. She spotted a greenish tinge, covering the upper part of his left cheek.

After the kids were finished with watching the penguins they moved towards the elephant habitat in Indian file. A small girl with fair hair and freckled face glanced back behind herself to make sure that Alice was not around. She then pulled out a large pack of peanuts and started to throw them one by one in Burt's direction.

"Here you are, big guy! I know you like these!" she said, watching Burt grab the peanuts with his tusk. The over kids surrounded her in a tight circle and asked her to let them throw some snacks for the elephant as well.

Skipper sneered, turned on his heel and waddled up towards the edge of the platform. He then stopped and gazed at the calm surface of water, his look foggy and empty.

"Stupid morons" he muttered to himself. Marlene noticed him rubbing his stomach areas with his flipper.

"Skipper, are you okay?" she asked, making several uncertain steps forward.

"No, I'm not" came the grumpy answer. "I've been studying our mission files all night and I'm exhausted".

Marlene placed her paw on his forehead.

"You're feverish" she stated.

"No I'm not" muttered Skipper, squirming away from her touch. He waddled over towards the fishbowl entrance.

"Move out, Private" he snapped towards the youngest penguin, who was sitting on the other side of the platform, playing with a humming top. Private let out a disappointed moan, but followed his leader submissively. Skipper jumped down the hall without even bidding her goodbye. Private waved his flipper towards her and chirped:

"See you later, Marlene".

Marlene just stood there, confused and distracted. Skipper's behavior was really… anxieting. She knew about his unhealthy habit of staying up all night, examining their mission files. Which could account for his grumpy mood somehow.. but nevertheless.

She was just about to move towards her house, when she stopped short. She heard Skipper 's smothered cough, coming from down their HQ. He was throwing up.

Marlene gripped her chest with her paw and sustained her breath for a while. She could hear Private's terrified voice. Poor child started to panic. Her intuition and good willing made her immediately turn on her heel and walk towards the fishbowl entrance to bring help, but before she had a chance to get in she was spotted by Alice who was passing the penguin's habitat, carrying two, large bags of peanuts for Burt.

"And WHAT are you doing here?" said Alice, goggling her green eyes at the otter.

Marlene startled and jumped up in the air in surprise. She let out a short squeak and immediately dived in the water to get out of sight.


	5. Chapter 5: Accident

CHAPTER FIVE: Accident

That night passed rather smoothly; no eerie nightmares invaded her mind. It already gave Marlene some hope. Maybe there was nothing to worry about? Skipper might probably have had a bad day, that happens to everyone.

It was Saturday evening. No visitors invaded the zoo, so Marlene decided to take the advantage of it and spend the rest of the day in her couch. She caught a slight cold recently and felt a little sore and dizzy. Two hours later, however, she decided to collect her strengths and go out for a little walk, to breathe some fresh air and free her mind from troubling thoughts. But wasn't it actually something else that made her leave her warm, cozy habitat? Wasn't there something she wanted to check?

Scarcely had she left her habitat areas, when King Julian bumped at her from behind the corner.

"Weheh, pretty lady! You know what just happened?" he said, goggling his eyes out.

Marlene's heart thumped violently.

"What is it, Ringtail?"

"Kowalski and Rico have been rushed to the hospital" reported Maurice, fear and anxiety written all over his face.

"What!" gasped Marlene. P

"Alice had found them lying motionless in the middle of the pavement. She took them immediately to the car and drove them to the vet. They had broken wings and their faces were bruised" Added Maurice.

"It's really creepy!" commented King Julian, his whole body shaking from fear. "Maurice!" he grabbed his servant by arms and shook him slightly. "Do you think it's possible that some bullies have sneaked inside the zoo and are now terrorizing my Kingdom? They might be everywhere!" he took a nervous glance around.

"I guess it's very unlikely to happen" replied Maurice. "You know that the zoo entrance is never left unguarded. There is no way for them to sneak through".

"Maybe" yelped King Julian, biting his fingertips nervously. "But we'd better go back to our habitat and stay alert, just in case! Why risk?" he grabbed Maurice by hand and pulled him back inside their habitat.

Marlene turned on her heal and made her way towards penguin's habitat. The fishbowl was pulled aside, so she had no trouble getting in. As she jumped down on the ground she spotted Private curled up in his bunk, crying his eyes out.

"Private!" she cried, leaping towards the youngest penguin. "I've just learned about Rico and Kowalski's accident. King Julien and Maurice told me everything. What happened? Where's Skipper"

"S…S..Skipper's out" sobbed Private, pressing his flippers to his swollen eyes. His whole body was shaking from spasms. Marlene sat beside the child and embraced him tightly. "He shouldn't have left you in such a state." She stated, wiping Private's face from tears. She was just about to ask him another question when she felt an unpleasant scent floating up in the air. It was getting stronger and stronger. She turned her head back and spotted Skipper. He was standing beside the ladder, his flippers resting on his hips. That greenish tinge on his cheek… it appeared to be much bigger now. Dark marks circled his eyes.

"Marlene.. could you please leave us alone for a while? I need to talk to Private" he said, his voice cold and sharp as a steel. "We'll discuss these stuff tomorrow, okay?" he added up, without giving her a chance to reply.

Marlene left Private's bunk, jumped on the ground and left without a word.

They were lying in hospital beds, their broken wings wrapped in bandages, their faces bruised and swollen. Marlene had never seen them in such an awful state before. Who was hiding behind this all?

She glanced at the window. She could hear wind's ominous whistle. It couldn't have been Joey's job, she was absolutely sure of it. Joey had been transferred to another zoo for a couple of months… so who else could have done this to them? Bada and Ring? No.. Marlene saw them chatting happily with Rico and Kowalski two days ago.

Suddenly Private's heart ripping wail jarred her out from her dreams. She woke up with a start and banged her head against the wall, her forehead bathed in clammy perspiration. She pricked up her ears and shivered. It sounded though as if Private was receiving a hard beating. She'd never seen Skipper using force at his youngest comrade except of sporadic face-slapping. Nethertheless she decided to check it by herself. She left her habitat, jumped over the brick wall and made her way towards the alley.

She spotted a bloody writing on the wall and stopped.

"I'm gonna kill you, Marlene. Sooner or later. Don't you even try to escape". She read. It was the first time, she felt like passing out from fear. It would never happened to her before. She pressed her paws against her chest.. the sky above her head started to spin.. everything melted in to one.. Two seconds later she lost contact with reality and collapsed on the grass.


	6. Chapter 6: It's Getting Worse

CHAPTER SIX: It's Getting Worse

She woke up at half past ten a.m, her whole body weak and sore. She forced herself to a sitting position and swept her eyes over the pavement. The zoo was calm and still.

Marlene rubbed her eyes dreamily. She could hear Skipper's angered voice. She gazed at the platform. She spotted Skipper , screaming his lungs out at poor Private, his face reddened from anger.

"Stupid brat!" he barked, raised his flipper and pushed Private violently down into the swimming pool. Marlene could hear Private's painful scream smothered by a loud splash of water.

"Skipper what do you think you're doing?" she chirped, goggling her eyes in shock at what she had just seen.

"Gotta problem, stupid mammal?" snapped Skipper, evil grimace plastered on his beak. His eyes.. there was something wrong with his eyes.. Marlene stepped back, and gulped. They were foggy, and slightly rueful.

"Look Skipper, I know you have to be strict to keep your team in line, but don't you think all of this is going a little bit overboard? I've never seen you behaving like that! He's just a kid!"

"Why won't you mind your own goddamned business, silly otter?" barked Skipper, anger and rage written all over his face.

Meanwhile Private scrambled out of the water, with a loud gasp. His whole body was shivering from cold. Marlene hurried to her knees, wrapped her paws around Private's flippers and pulled him up.

"Everything's all right, Private?" she whispered.

"I...ib. fibe.." chirped Private but he was soon interrupted by series of loud sneezes.

"You don't have the right to treat him like that!" cried Marlene, shooting an angry look at Skipper. "Since he's got a cold he should avoid contact with cold water and above all, he should get some rest! You're pushing him too hard!"

"I have the right to do whatever I want, Marlene. He will be training as long as he is told to" snapped Skipper. "Someone has to teach him not to be such a sucker all the time. And what are YOU staring at? Get the fuck out!" he snapped at a little girl with fair hair, who was standing in front of the fence.

Marlene froze.

"This can't be happening!" she thought to herself, pressing her paws against her head. It was the first time she'd witnessed Skipper acting so rude and aggressive towards an innocent child.

"And what about Rico and Kowalski? I think you owe me some explanation, Skipper!" she said, resting her paws on her hips.

"I'm telling you once again, it's none of your goddamn buisness." hissed Skipper. "You would do well if you we're gone now. You're pissing me off.

"Skipper..."

"NOW!" growled Skipper, giving her a hateful gaze.

Marlene shivered. It came down to her it was one of those times when she really should withdraw. She turned on her heels and ran out of the penguins habitat.

"I bet you've already read my warning on the wall, Marlene" she heard his evil whisper as she was making her way towards her own house.

She would spend the rest of the day, trashing about near Alice's main office, her mind full of sorrows. She didn't know whenever she should pay a visit to Rico and Kowalski. She would really like to find out about their current condition. But she was too afraid of being caught by random visitors when making her way towards the hospital zone.

"I don't know what the hell is going on in this zoo, Daniel" Alice's nosy voice jarred her away from her own thoughts. "First, there were those two penguins with broken wings . Now there's a kid with a squished nose and a scratched face. I stumbled across her two hours ago, sitting on a bench and crying her eyes out. "

Marlene leaped up towards the half-opened window, pressed her body against the cold brick wall and pricked up her ears to catch some more from Alice's telephone chat.

"She said she was attacked by an animal. But she wouldn't say which one! She said she couldn't give it away because she was too afraid of …revenge? That's exactly, what she said, Daniel! I know it's sounds as if she's been out of her mind, but… Darh! As if the animals were able to talk! Those kids are really something…" she rolled in her armchair and took a pen in her hand to make some notes. "Well she was sitting right next to the penguins habitat… but no, what harm could have they possibly done to an innocent child? That makes no sense! Everyone knows they are sooo cute'n cuddly!" she said the last line in a mocking voice. "I don't know, man. If things keep going on like this I think it would be the highest time for me to quit".

Marlene recalled Skipper's raging voice when he was shouting out rude words at that little girl. Now she would have no doubts. Alice was so close to the truth, yet she would just shrug it off as some kind of an obvious nonsense.

Marlene grabbed her head in her paws and let out a painful moan:

"This situation starts to overgrow me.."


	7. Chapter 7: Dark Spirits

CHAPTER SEVEN: Dark Spirits

She had been wandering in the forest for hours. Everything seemed to be getting out of control. Is there anyone else in whom she can confide?

"What's bothering you, young lady?" she heard someone's hoarse, gentle voice. She jumped up in surprise and turned her head back to see who was calling on her. She spotted Mrs Jenkins, Fred's Squirrel Grandma. She was poking her head through the tree hole, watching over Marlene with anxiety and concern.

"I've been keeping an eye on you for quite a long time, dear child" confessed Mrs Jenkins. "Is there any way I could help you?"

"Oh, Mrs Jenkins" Marlene hurried towards the tree hole, both surprised and relieved.

"Come inside, we can have a quiet chat if you want" said Mrs Jenkins, making some space for Marlene to jump through.

"It's.. it's all about Skipper, my best friend" confessed Marlene, squeezing the handkerchief in her paws. " His behavior changed rapidly since several days and I have no clue what is going on with him.. he's turned so aggressive and violent.. not only towards his best friends, but also towards the kids.. which I find especially shocking and unbelievable! He would always fight off bullies and protect the weak..! And he would never raise his flipper at me! He… " she stopped for a while to smother another wave of spasm raising up in her breast. "Rico and Kowalski, his elder comrades have been rushed to the hospital last night.. our zookeeper found them lying in the middle of the alley, unconscious.. they had broken wings and bruised faces… I.. I .. paid them a visit toady.. and .. now I'm 100 percent sure… it was Skipper who beat them up!" she stopped cut, thrust her head in the handkerchief and burst out crying. "It can't have been anyone else!"

There was a long moment of silence, interrupted only by Marlene's quiet sobbing. Mrs Jenkins pulled out her arm and patted the Otter on the back.

"There is another thing, Mrs Jenkins" said Marlene, when the wave of spasm was over. "For these several nights, I've been haunted by series of terrible dreams.. someone was chasing me all over the zoo with an obvious attempt to assassinate me.. and the whole zoo was completely deserted… I could sense evil waiting for me behind each corner… and I got this terrifying feeling that the evil person who would haunt me in my dreams was nobody else but Skipper himself!"

Mrs Jenkins goggled her eyes out. There was a strange glimpse in her hazel irises.

"Dear Girl… all this story brings me the memories of something evil.. very, very evil… There's something on my mind right now.." she paused for a moment and raised her eyes back at Marlene.

"Have you ever heard of those terrifying events which took place in one of the most remote part of the Madagascar Island?" she asked.

Marlene felt a nasty jolt inside her stomach. "Terrifying events?"

"Never heard of those evil spirits, bringing destruction, death and pain to all its habitants?" said Mrs Jenkins. "It was during your trip on the Island. The Great Shaman Rabooca imprisoned them in a bottle and buried it deep down in the beach to make sure no one would ever discover it. Once freed, he said - those evil spirits would concentrate their target on one of the former habitants and release his dark side, by using his childhood sorrows, grudge and all sorts of traumas he'd experienced throughout his life. Those dangerous rituals had been taking place for three centuries.. but the evil forces outlived their developers….

"Wait! " Marlene cried all of a sudden. _"Wasn't that the same thing King Julian and Maurice were talking about?" she thought._

She gripped her paws under the table. Everything made sense now. "Skipper has fallen victim of evil spirits".

She raised her watery eyes at the Old Squirrel.

"So it means that… that Skipper is possessed… What am I supposed to do, Mrs Jenkins?" she asked, her lips trembling convulsively.

"The Island's dark secret has been revealed!" said Mrs Jenkins, her eyes fixed somewhere far behind Marlene's head. Her voice started to sound very unnatural. She raised her paws up, let out a gasp and collapsed on the floor. Marlene let out a shriek and hurried down on her knees to help her up. But the old Lady was unconscious. She looked outside and gasped. The whole park was bathed in complete darkness although it was only 4:00 pm.

"How on earth am I supposed to get back to the zoo?" thought Marlene, taking a desperate look around. "I can't see a damn thing!"


	8. Chapter 8: Alice's Office

CHAPTER EIGHT: Alice's Office

She started to pitch forward in panic, her heart pounding rapidly in her breast. Five minutes later she would eventually cross the zoo entrance gate. She took a quick glance at penguin's habitat and gasped. The whole water surface was covered with vomit. Just like in her dream. And this scent of sickness… He was spying on her, she could sense his presence. He made a rush at her from behind the tree and pressed her hard against the grass.

"You pitiful mammal, I've finally got the chance to stroke you to death" he spat, wrapping his flippers around her wrists.

"You did this, didn't you? You've beaten them up, you've targeted the little girl, this is all your job!" shouted Marlene, both infuriated and terrified.

"Shut up!" roared Skipper. "Don't you even try to squirm away. You hear me? You mammal freak?" he roared, while nailing her body against the ground. "I should have done it a long time ago. I'm going to finish you off, all of you, one by one". He paused for a while, panting from anger. A horrible grimace distorted his beak. He clutched his stomach and violently threw up. Marlene took the advantage of the situation and rolled away from underneath his body, which she did just in time to avoid Skipper barfing at her face. She jumped off of the ground and dived in the bushes.

She then continued her escape, running as fast as she could. As she was passing by through the habitats she would steal quick, desperate glances inside, but there wasn't a single soul around. All habitats were completely deserted.

"Is there any over place, where I can hide from him?" she thought.. then she stopped.. Alice's Office….

Yep, that's right!

Although she didn't have the plan, she decided to go to Alice's private headquarters by sneaking through one of the secret passages the penguins had discovered two months ago. As she was crawling carefully underneath the ground level she could feel a nasty emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Her heart sank. This used to be the one of Skipper's favorite passages. Whenever she got the chance to join the penguins in their operations, they would crawl over her together, side by side, their bodies covered with mud, sand and water.

She hopped on the ground and took a careful look around. The whole office was a complete mess. Paper sheets were sticking out of the desk, some of them wallowing about on the floor. Alice was nowhere to be seen. Not a single sound would came out from the corridor. Marlene realized it was in fact the first time she'd miss Alice's grumpy voice. She leaped towards the kitchen with a slight ray of hope that's she would find her there. But there wasn't a single soul. She spotted Alice's walkman headphones, lying on the kitchen desk. Then she saw some yellow daffodils dying away in their ceramic flowerpots on the windowsill.

"Seems like she hasn't been watering them for ages!" stated Marlene, scrubbing her chin thoughtfully. She knew that Alice was completely nuts about taking care of plants. She got plenty of those in her own house, and it would be very unlike her to leave them in such a state.

Marlene ran back to the office and pushed the door slightly. They were open.

"She didn't even lock the door when leaving!" she gasped. "What the heck?"

Did someone kidnap her? Where did she go? What takes her so long?

Marlene sat on the armchair and curled up in two. This whole situation started to overgrow her. She felt pain, fear and despair. Alice was gone and she had no one to seek support in. She was too afraid to go back to her own habitat. Skipper was the main cause. She'd never seen him so aggressive, arrogant and.. evil. She could see hatred and grudge in his sapphire blue eyes. And what on earth happened to the rest of the animals? All habitats were deserted. She'd been trying to localize somebody near the pond, but even the ducks were gone. She realized she would do well if she just stayed where she was. At least she would be safe here.

" I WILL FIND YOU SOONER OR LATER, YO PITIFULL MAMMAL FREAK!" she heard Skipper's roar bouncing all over the zoo. Marlene let out a gasp and pressed her paws against her heart. She scrambled out of the armchair, leaped towards the corridor and locked the door. Then she ran to the kitchen to make sure the window was shut. Although she knew it was very unlikely for anybody to get through (Alice's office was on the fourth floor), she decided to obstruct the sill with flower pots and boxes just in case. When she was done, she went back to the main room and collapsed on the armchair, totally drained, both mentally and physically. She doubled up on the pillow, burrowed her head in the handkerchief and burst out crying.


	9. Chapter 9: The End of Our Days

CHAPTER NINE: (the last one) The end of our days

When Marlene woke up, the whole room was covered with darkness. Horrible darkness. She couldn't distinguish a single thing.

"The Island's Dark Spirit has been revealed!" Old Squirrel's dramatic voice echoed all over the flat. "The end is coming!"

There was a sudden ramble outside. She leaped towards the window and took a scary peek. The whole zoo was covered with flames.

Everything was burning. She pinched her cheek to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but no – it wasn't a dream, it was a reality. Terrifying reality. There was no chance for any of them to survive, she was perfectly sure of it. All she could do now was to wait. Wait for the death to come.

She saw Skipper's foggy eyes emerging through thick, gloomy clouds and felt her legs sluing slightly from under her. She wasn't even able to cry. A sudden wave of apathy overcame her body. She would just stay there, her eyes fixed somewhere far in the distance, waiting for the massive cloud of dust to approach the office buildings.

There was another explosion, this time ten times stronger and louder.

Explosion, which put an end to everything.


End file.
